One tablespoon at a time, over the course of many months, Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers dug a hole in the walls of Alcatraz big enough to escape though. The story, immortalized by Clint Eastwood in the movie Escape From Alcatraz, is based on actual events. The real guys actually did this. They embarked into San Francisco Bay on a makeshift raft and were never seen or heard from again. The FBI presumed they drowned, but never closed the case because their bodies were never found. An iota of doubt. An inkling of hope. It remains an unsolved mystery to this day.

Like Morris and the Anglin brothers, the Coyotes (my band) and I spent the last 18 months recording, one tablespoon at a time, digging into the depths of our new album Wilderness. We have finally broken through. We have finished the recording phase. We are done recording. And into the icy waters of The Puget Sound we go...

By the way...Wilderness Updates normally only go to those who have backed the album by donating. But I wanted to share this one with everyone because it's so cool! And there's still time to pledge your support if you want to help us get through the remaining phases. Just head over here.

18 months in photos

We grew. We grew together. We still like each other.

What a privelige to make this album with this group. What a remarkable group of people! One or two nights a week is a massive commitment from a bunch of people with families, kids, and careers. They poured so much heart and love into these songs. I'm so grateful for them and for all the amazing, talented people that showed up and played or just hung out. Or fell asleep on the couch.

The grind starts now

Being done with recording is a milestone. It’s just one phase of making an album. There are a bunch of things that happen after you finish recording and before the first single is released. Next up is mixing. This is when we edit and set levels of each track. After that is mastering. Mastering sequences the song order, encodes it properly for digital streaming, vinyl, CDs, etc... and puts the final touch on the overall dynamic range and volume. There’s the visual art direction, which sets in motion the art for everything from the album art across digital, CDs, and Vinyl, to merchandise like T-shirts, stickers, and the other fun things that we create to support the music. There’s the release strategy where we decide when the album comes out, what songs we’ll release as singles, and how we want to coordinate that with physical products. And finally, the booking of shows so we can all join together in a room and feel these songs move the air through our bodies. It’s a lot!

This stuff all takes time, energy, and money. My fundraiser page is right here if you’d like to help. I’d really appreciate it!

Meanwhile, on August 7th...

The Grace 15-year anniversary show is just a few weeks away. I’m more and more excited about this every day. To see my old friends. To play the songs in the place where most of them were written. To celebrate one of the few good legacies of Mars Hill that will endure: the music. We don’t have to leave Mars Hill in its ashes. We can celebrate the good things. It’s a redemptive thing to do.

I think it’s going to be quite the reunion. As of right now it’s 75% sold out, so if you haven’t got your tickets yet, get em now before they’re all gone!

Talk soon...